[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 12/22/2002

he Bruins tied last night's game. Try telling that to the Bruins.

The somber mood in their dressing room was similar to the mood after a loss. It was understandable, though, after a stunning lapse in the third period at the FleetCenter allowed the Florida Panthers to score two goals in the last 52 seconds of regulation, including the tying goal with 1.4 seconds to play. The game ended in a 3-3 tie but the point the Bruins gained - putting them a point behind the Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa Senators - felt hollow. Their winless skid has now reached six games (0-5-1-0).

Brian Rolston said it was hard not to be infuriated by the result.

''Tonight, it definitely was,'' said Rolston. ''You have the other team down, 3-1, and it felt like we were dominating the play and we let them back in like that. It's a tough tie.''

For the first two periods, it looked as if the Bruins were going to run the Panthers right out of the rink. Joe Thornton's line, once again, put points on the board, with Thornton getting a pair of goals and right wing Glen Murray adding two assists. Even goaltender John Grahame got on the score sheet with his second assist of the year on Thornton's first goal.

Thornton took advantage of a heads-up play by Grahame, who sent the puck out of the Bruins zone and up the right-wing boards. It went by Murray and ahead to Thornton, who carried it into the Florida zone. He fired a wrister from the right circle that beat goaltender Roberto Luongo 42 seconds into the game.

The Bruins' captain put his team up by a pair on a shorthanded goal at 16:13 of the first period.

But the Panthers, who had played the night before in Buffalo and looked tired in the first two periods, cut the lead in half at 17:45. Andreas Lilja dished a pass from the point and Stephen Weiss directed it through the pads of Grahame. During the play, Bruins rookie Ivan Huml took an elbow to his face and struggled to get to the Boston bench. Florida was able to take advantage of the numerical advantage. Huml, though shaken up on the play, did return to the game.

The Bruins thought they had increased the lead to 3-1 at 2:48 of the middle period but wound up disappointed. Rob Zamuner thought he had his fourth goal of the year when he put the puck underneath the pad of Luongo at the right post. Referee Paul Stewart lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle. When Luongo sat up, the puck was in the net. The play was reviewed by a video replay judge, who consulted with Stewart. It could not be determined if the puck had crossed the line prior to the whistle, so the goal didn't count.

''That's the breaks,'' said Zamuner. ''It's tough because that would've probably changed the game a little more, but we still can't let a two-goal lead slip. We did that last year and we eliminated that problem at the beginning of the year. It's a cliche but we've got to do the little things and that's what we're not doing right now. It feels like a loss. If we're going to be successful in the long run, we can't let that happen.''

Zamuner did manage to cash in on his next chance, when Marty McInnis centered a pass into the right circle. Zamuner one-timed it past Luongo at 6:04 for the 3-1 lead, which felt safe.

For the final 20 minutes, the Panthers made an inspired push, particularly during a late power play when rookie defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, called up from Providence to take the place of flu-ridden Nick Boynton, was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking at 15:57. Talented Kristian Huselius had an excellent opportunity when he was left alone in front. He tried to lift a backhander over Grahame but the goalie snared it with his glove.

But the Panthers kept coming. Center Viktor Kozlov pulled them within 1 with 51.3 seconds left in regulation. With Luongo pulled for an extra attacker, right wing Ivan Novoseltsev jammed the puck past Grahame at the right post with 1.4 seconds on the clock, tying the game at 3-3 and sending it into the extra session.

Grahame put an exclamation point on the Bruins' frustration when he hurried through the dressing room and slammed the door of the players' lounge.

''I don't think you're human if you don't let it bother you a little bit,'' said Rolston. ''You've got to let it bother you so you can get better. We understand how we have to play in order to win and we're trying to fight out of it here.''

This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 12/22/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.